Aftermath
by asinglecrimsonrose
Summary: Life after Erik. Leading up to "Beneath A Moonless Sky".
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note:**

**Hello! This is my first fanfiction, so I hope you enjoy it. ****Review, please. :D Negative comments (and positive ones!) gladly accepted. An actual chapter is on its way.**

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Prologue

Christine's POV

I knew I would never forget the events, which occurred under the Paris Opera House. Too much had happened for me to forget, Erik kidnapping me (if that is the right word), us falling in love, and eventually, Raoul, oh my Raoul, rescuing me, the brave soul from almost death. Because of these events, I never dared to dream I would return to the Opera House, and yet eventually I did.


	2. The Search For A Perfect Wedding Dress

**Authoress' Note:**

**Hello readers! Thank you ever so much for reading my story. It's not the best, at all, but I worked hard on it so I hope you enjoy it.**

**And now, I present to you, Chapter One!**

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Christine's Point of View

"Christine!" shrieked Madeline, one of my many maidservants, joyfully, "How about this one?!" She smiled, hopeful. This was at least the tenth frilly wedding dress I had seen in the past hour, though it seemed like much more. How many could I possibly take before I went mad?

"It's, um-," I stood up out of the plush chair I had been sitting in to look interested and forced a smile, but Madeline interrupted. She obviously knew I was putting on a charade of happiness.

"No, no. There cannot be _any_ ums about your perfect wedding dress! The victome will not have it!" she sighed and scurried back to the rack lined with pristine, white garment bags.

I knew I would never adore, not even remotely like any of these dresses, so what was the point of being here? Lovely as they were, there was and _is _only one dress for me, though I dreaded to admit it. It was a dress I hadn't seen for months. _Raoul, _I sighed. _Raoul, the man who saved me from my kidnapper, the overly worried fiancee, my childhood sweetheart, my husband in a few short months. He had probably hid the dress somewhere, so I would not see it, though he would not have to reply "yes" if I ever asked him if he threw it out or not._

I head a gasp of joy from the garment rack and braced myself for another gown to be shoved before me. I had to at least look pleased with myself. Raoul would most likely question Madeline if I had looked happy during this _wonderful_ experience. After all, brides were usually overjoyed to shop for wedding dresses, but what was the point if I already had one I loved immensely? I knew the answer. _Raoul, Raoul wanted me here; to get me away from being alone in our small estate and thinking of_ him. _He still, most likely, suspected I still had feelings for my former kidnapper and wanted these feelings, gone if ever possible. _He was a good man, my fiancee. He knew thinking of Erik pained me, so he wanted me to forget him, if possible. After all, after what Raoul had done for me, I owed him this favor. It wasn't much, just a few hours of looking at dresses.

"Ooh!" Madeline shrieked as she unzipped yet another garment bag. "It's beautiful!"

I sighed. _This might be bearable, _I thought, _if it were Meg helping me._ I missed my old friend, but Raoul said we _just had_ to leave Paris, no matter how much we did not want to. Why? Because people would obviously ask about that little affair which happened under the magnificent Opera House, and Raoul did not _ever_ want me to think of the masked man living under it ever again.

"Here, Christine!" Madeline shrieked yet again and held up another gown, triumphant and overly hopeful I would love it at first sight and take it as my own. The dress was very well detailed. Beads lined each stitch, with an extremely long train following it; it was sleeveless and very gorgeous, though it was not for me. I couldn't see myself in it at all.

"It's very nice," I began to say timidly, but Madeline had already replaced it into its garment bag.

"You know, Christine, I don't believe we're getting anywhere with this. It's been God knows how long, and I don't believe you'll be liking any other dresses besides that one in the victome's dusty old attic!" she exclaimed and huffed as she marched away.

_How did she know that? What has Raoul been telling her? I thought we two were the only ones who knew about it! This is insane, _I thought. I was going completely paranoid over nothing more than a piece of fabric! _So what if she knows, she can't possibly know where it came from, can she?_ I sighed, and retreated back to the cushioned seat I had been relaxing in while Madeline pointlessly searched through the gowns for Raoul. I opened my book once more and attempted to concentrate, but the effort was pointless, Erik would not leave my head.

_I wonder what he's doing right now, maybe he's with Madame Giry? Maybe he found someone else..._ I pushed the thoughts from my clouded head. If he was still the same Erik I knew months ago, then he had not found another person who he could learn to love, much to my dismay. I still felt guilty about having to abandon the lonely man in the end. He did truly love me, even if he was a bit deranged about it. After all, I had agreed to live with him, and he had allowed me to leave, so I shouldn't be feeling so guilty, correct? _Right, now whatever happened to him is not your fault. He's a man, you shouldn't worry about him so much. He proved to you he could handle himself, did he not? Especially after he murdered Joseph Buquet and probably several others before you met him. But had he found someone else? If he did, I wouldn't be suprised, I mean, he is a very likable man after all, if you can get passed the half-crazed part of him, and the deformity. _I shivered. The poor man, forced to hide because of how he looked. Was I feeling sorry for him now? The man who kidnapped me, and forced me into a wedding dress! Was I even a little jealous? That he might love someone else and had forgotten me? "What's wrong with me," I sighed. I picked up my book, since there was no hope of reading it, and walked slowly upstairs to the sitting room.


End file.
